14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), in Australia, argue that humor is an excellent form of therapy for dementia patients showing chronic agitation. The team reveals that their latest study suggests this approach to be more effective even than antipsychotic drugs.
The most significant advantage this method has is that it does away with the negative side-effects of medication. As a general rule, these drugs do not have consistent effects across all patient populations, whereas laughter does.
Additionally, doctors avoid unwanted drug interactions in their patients, mostly seniors, who oftentimes also receive medication for other conditions. This study marks the first time that experts take an in-depth look at the effects that humor can have in treating diseases.
Experts selected dementia patients for their survey because these individuals tend to suffer from mood disturbances, agitation, behavioral problems and difficulties with social engagement. The fact that humor acts on all these issues at the same time speaks volumes about its potential as a medical tool.
UNSW professor and lead study researcher Dr. Lee-Fay Low says that applying this strategy to people in the study group led to both short- and long-term positive effects, especially for decreasing agitation.
Some of the most common forms of dementia include Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, semantic dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. Patients suffering from all these conditions could benefit from the new approach, the Australian team reports.
“Agitated behaviors include physical and verbal aggression, wandering, screaming and repetitive behaviors and questions. This is challenging for staff and often indicates unmet needs and distress in the residents of aged care facilities,” Dr. Low explains, quoted by PsychCentral.
His investigations were conducted on a group of 36 dementia patients in nursing homes. For each of these homes, the team selected a staff member to act as the “LaughterBoss,” the one responsible for keeping spirits up and cracking jokes.
According to the team, the new program – which is called Play Up – shows tremendous potential for treating the elderly in general. The team focused exclusively on dementia for this research, but they plan to continue their work to cover other conditions as well.
This investigation “shows humor therapy should be considered before medication for agitation, particularly taking into account its side effects,” the team leader concludes.